Over the hedge was a 2006 animated film based on the comic strip of the same name by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. The film follows a raccoon named RJ who, in an attempt to repay his debt to a bear, manipulates a group of animals who have recently awakened from hibernation to find their habitat has been taken over by a newly built suburb. RJ shows the animals the wonders of the suburbs, putting many of them in danger and at odds with the animals’ leader, a neurotic turtle named Verne.
The movie was released when DreamWorks Animation was at its peak and became a major player in animation. Over the hedge received an excellent summer release date and received solid reviews from critics upon release. It has a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and even received three stars from acclaimed critic Roger Ebert. But unlike other DreamWorks properties like Trolls, Kung Fu Pandaor The Croods, Over the hedge never got a sequel or even a TV spin-off series like that Monsters vs Aliens. Check out why Over the hedge never got a sequel despite being a hit.
Background information on Over the Hedge
Over the hedge is a unique film for DreamWorks Animation. The series is adapted from a syndicated comic, and while Shrek was also an adaptation, the studio mostly made original stories in-house. The other was the fact that the movie was originally set up at 20th Century Fox through their animation division, but was dropped after the box office disappointment of Titan AE DreamWorks picked up the film and originally set up Jim Carrey to voice the raccoon RJ before the actor dropped out and was replaced by Bruce Willis.
DreamWorks added high-profile talent to the cast, including Steve Carell, who had become a major comedy star the previous year with the release of The 40-year-old virgin and the premiere of The office. The cast also included Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Nick Nolte, Allison Janney, recent Academy Award nominee Thomas Hayden Church, and pop superstar Avril Lavigne in an effort to boost the movie’s appeal.
Released in a busy summer
Over the hedge opened on May 19, 2006. It opened on the same day as the highly anticipated adaptation of The DaVinci code and therefore took the number two spot at the box office on its opening weekend with $38 million. The film held the number three position at the box office for two weeks and faced competition from X-Men: The Last Battle and The break up. But by mid-June it quickly dropped out of the top 10 and was eclipsed by Pixar’s cars.
Over the hedge grossed $155 million domestically and $339 million worldwide, which paled in comparison to cars, grossing $244 million domestically and $461 million worldwide. The thing is, in this day and age even earning nearly six times its original budget doesn’t necessarily mean a movie is a hit.
Over the Hedge was not a flop, just a disappointment
Over the hedge was considered a disappointment by DreamWorks Animation when it was released, particularly the weekend’s $38 million dollar drop from the opening weekend of Shrek ($42 million) and scream 2 ($108 million), and even recent DreamWorks movies like Shark stories and Madagascar, both of which opened to $47 million. The final worldwide gross of Over the hedge was well below those four DreamWorks animated films, and even today ranks at the bottom of the box office and is not only below every How to train your dragon and Kung Fu Panda movies as well Trolls, Homeand Monsters vs Aliens.
While Over the hedge had an $80 million budget, which is on the lower end of budgets for DreamWorks Animated movies, that doesn’t mean it’s an instant hit. Traditional box office statistics tend to say that a movie must double its budget to be considered profitable Over the hedge domestic total is about $5 million shy of doubling its budget. While the worldwide box office certainly helped, the film was not the hit DreamWorks expected. In 2007, a year after the film opened, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said that they nearly greenlit a sequel, but it fell through due to the film’s box office performance.
The time for Over the Hedge 2 may be over
DreamWorks Animation has definitely taken its time with sequels. The Croods: A New Era premiered in theaters seven years after its release The Croods. Recently, Cat and boots: the last wish Opened in theaters 11 years later Puss and Boots, that is the studio could always make a sequel to it Over the hedge despite it being opened 16 years ago. However, there are multiple factors preventing the movie from happening right now.
The largest is with respect to the two stars. Gary Shandling, who voiced Verne the Turtle, died in 2016. Bruce Willis, who voiced the raccoon RJ, recently retired from acting in March 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia, which affects language skills and prevents him from voice character. Although the film’s two stars could theoretically be replaced by new voice actors, the combination of the two biggest leads is no longer able to star in the film with the 16-year gap and initial disappointment at the box office a sequel to Over the hedge unlikely and not a priority for DreamWorks Animation. Likely, Over the hedge is just over.